Many thousands of players flock to worlds in Minecraft to let their creativity soar or tackle a survival channel. But over the years, the game has served as a valuable educational tool, adding a layer of gamification to mathematics, biology, history, computer programming and virtually any subject which does not require a student to leave their chair. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, some students are no longer able to make it into classrooms and are instead having to learn from home with more limited teaching resources. Microsoft is making things a little bit easier, and offering a selection of lessons previously available on the Minecraft: Education Edition for free via the Minecraft Marketplace.
Listed under the EDUCATION category on the Minecraft Marketplace, parents and their children can dive into worlds explicitly developed to align with educational outcomes. Each world includes lesson plans, including creative writing activities, build challenges and puzzles. Through the work of creators including Everbloom, Jigarbov, Lifeboat, Razzleberries, The World Foundry, Blockworks, and Imagiverse; students can tour the International Space Station, explore the wonderful world of marine biology and more. A complete content list can be found HERE.
These educational opportunities are now available free of charge through to 30 June 2020.
We understand the important role gaming is playing right now to connect people and provide joy in these isolating and stressful times, and our teams are working diligently to ensure we can be there for our players. To that end, we are actively monitoring performance and usage trends to ensure we’re optimizing the service for our customers worldwide and accommodating for new growth and demand.
Microsoft
